LT Howard Bernstein

Like so many pilots during World War II, Navy Lieutenant Howard Bernstein began flying planes without ever having set foot in one as a civilian. Enlisting on December 7, 1942, he fought hard to fly: initially failing the eye examination for new pilots, he ate carrots and drank milk for a month, in order to improve his eyesight and pass the test on the second go. “When I got up in the air, and the instructor was trying to tell me what to do, I wasn’t paying attention—I wanted to look around!” Arriving in the Aleutians, he flew bombing missions from Attu to the Kuril Islands situated northwest of Japan; at around 750 miles, these were considered extremely long flights.
We honor you, Howard Bernstein.